Kevin Winters

Belfast firm KRW LAW LLP acted on behalf of the widow of James Keelan, who was murdered by UVF gunmen on 30 June 1987.

In May 2012, Mrs Keelan and her family were contacted by police to tell them that “items of human tissue” together with Mr Keelan’s skull had been retained by them after the murder.

The firm subsequently issued proceedings against the police on her behalf for negligence and breach of statutory duty in both removing and retaining the body parts without either permission or communication with the family.

The PSNI have agreed to pay a significant sum of damages to Mrs Keelan with no admission of liability.

Solicitor Kevin Winters of KRW LAW’s legacy litigation department, said: “We welcome today’s announcement. It marks the end of a long legal battle to get some vindication over what was a terrible human rights abuse.

“State agencies hiving off the body parts of murder victims is macabre and abhorrent. There can never be any justification for what really was some sort of reincarnation of State sanctioned ‘Burke and Hare’ extraction of body parts belonging to Troubles victims.

“The Keelan family are still waiting for a full explanation on how and why this was allowed to happen.”

He continued: “Unfortunately, this isn’t the only instance of body parts retention. We are aware of other cases involving not just police but other agencies, all of which points to a much wider systemic practice.

“There needs to be a review into what happened here in this case and elsewhere. Most importantly there’s a real need for a public acknowledgement of wrongdoing and an apology.

“Conflict-bereaved families have had to live with the trauma of the killing of a loved one.

“Their grief ought not to be compounded by having to live with the gruesome reality that their family member had bits of their body removed without their knowledge.”